The Dead Island universe is expanding once again. The original Dead Island and its sequel Dead Island: Riptide are survival horror action-RPGs with an emphasis on melee combat and co-op. Then there's Dead Island: Epidemic, which is a zombified twist on the MOBA genre. At E3, Dead Island 2 was announced, which brings the series back to its roots with seamless co-op multiplayer and "first-person melee combat with dedicated RPG elements such as character development, looting and weapon crafting." But now comes the announcement of an entirely new game in the series, entitled Escape Dead Island, which is unlike any of the previous games.

Escape Dead Island is a "third-person single-player survival mystery spin-off that unravels the origins of the zombie outbreak and tells the story between multi-million-seller Dead Island and the recently announced successor Dead Island 2." It's a story-driven adventure that follows Cliff Calo, who arrives on the island of Narapela, part of the Banoi archipelago, seeking to document the unexplained events he heard about. Aside from the switch to third-person perspective, the other major difference you'll notice right away is the aesthetic change – Escape Dead Island uses a cel-shaded look, as you can see in the trailer and screenshots below.

Escape Dead Island is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 this Fall for $39.99. The game is being developed by Fatshark, the studio behind (in order from oldest to most recent) Lead and Gold, Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Hamilton's Great Adventure, Krater, War of the Roses, and War of the Vikings – quite the broad range. Meanwhile, Dead Island 2 is being developed by Yager Development, the studio behind Spec Ops: The Line and the upcoming Dreadnought.